As much as the referee and his ‘assistants’ can be blamed
for countless bad decisions, we couldn’t feel hard done by when you consider
the manner in which we conceded the two goals which gifted our opponents three
points. Frankly, we were lucky it was only two.
We didn’t get going at all – the man-marking was
non-existent and the Lincoln players had so much time and space on the ball.
When we did manage to gain possession, the combination of poor passing and
hesitation meant we weren’t retaining the ball enough. As far as Lincoln were
well organised, good on the ball and quick to close down, we were poor. It was
almost like watching a couple of seasons ago – under the likes of Sanchez or
Robson. I was really looking forward to seeing the new faces in action, but in
the first half, the only player of note was Charlie Mac – unfortunately,
service to him was abysmal. Stephens was the only other stand-out player – he’s
consistently solid.
In the second half, Allen freshened things up with
Muggleton and Mauro on for Johnson and Togwell – and both were quick to make an
impact. It only took 10 minutes to pull a goal back – Muggleton’s long throws
into the box looked deadly and finally one paid off, KMB netting –
unfortunately it was only the single consolation we managed. Gambin later came
on for Lee Cook and he too looked a danger. It was just so refreshing to see
the ball being played out wide, we previously played so narrow, it was
impossible to create something. Going forward we became more a threat and
credit has to go to Townsend in the Imps’ goal for a number of quality saves
that kept their lead. Based on the second half performance, a draw would have
been fair, but we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. I’ve been meaning to see
if there’s any footage of the penalty shouts anywhere – two were stonewall.
On The Hive: I still can’t make my mind up about it.
While the facilities are incredible and going past it on the tube, you realise
how impressive the site is, the atmosphere is constantly lacking and it’s just
so lifeless there. I loved my seat at Underhill as I was surrounded by decent
people, The Hive is just so dull – and not least because of all the grey. This
time round I sat in block B (apparently the family stand) and no one within
five rows of me said anything all game – the stomping of the feet on the metal
floor of the stand was a complete ear-sore. But for the torrential rain, I’d
have been there today – I want to take dad to see the new signings in action.
Another good result, against a team that were in the relegation places last
campaign. I feel the next real test will come next month, when we travel to
Forest Green...
